• Arcadia Biosciences Inc., of Davis, Calif., reported the successful completion of its first drought-tolerance technology field trial. Results of the trial demonstrated that plants engineered for drought-tolerance achieved significantly higher yields than the control plants under induced-drought conditions, and similar yields under non-drought conditions. The drought-tolerant technology was developed by an international team of researchers and led by the University of California, Davis. The University of California has filed a patent application on that technology. The patent application is pending in the U.S. and in a number of foreign countries. The patent rights are covered by an exclusive arrangement between the University of California and Arcadia. Results from lab and greenhouse trials by the University of California, Davis were published in the Nov. 27, 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. Arcadia estimates that the first commercially available drought-tolerant plants could be available by 2016.

• ChemDiv Inc., of San Diego, has signed a collaborative discovery research agreement with Siwa Biotech Corp., of Oklahoma City. Under the agreement, ChemDiv will be initiating a high-throughput screen for small molecule inhibitors of tyrosylprotein sulfotransferases. The collaboration provides Siwa Biotech with access to ChemDiv's expertise in chemistry systems and lead discovery. Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Novavax Inc., of Rockville, Md., and GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Co., of Chalfont St. Giles, UK, have reached a collaboration agreement to develop and market a pandemic influenza vaccine manufacturing solution for selected countries. The collaboration combines GE Healthcare's bioprocess solutions and Novavax's virus-like particle (VLP) and manufacturing platform. Novavax's VLP-based H5N1 pandemic flu vaccine is currently in Phase I/IIa clinical trials. The goal is that any required recombinant vaccine could be produced in cell culture within 12 weeks of identification of a pandemic strain, without using eggs or live influenza virus.

• Oxford Biomedica plc, of London, said its Phase III trial for its Trovax renal cancer product will continue without modifications after an independent review concluded there were no safety or efficacy issues. The specialty biotech company expects the trial to report in 2009, with the enrollment of 700 patients - there are currently 500 in the trial - to be completed next year. The announcement followed print reports from analysts following suggestions of weaknesses in Trovax's phase II data

• Sernova Corp., of Kelowna, British Columbia, has completed a comprehensive preclinical efficacy animal study for its lead product Sertolin, which is a combination of porcine Sertoli cells and pancreatic islet cells for the treatment of diabetes. Work thus far has shown that in 100 percent of implants into animals, the islets and Sertoli cells have been shown to survive for extended periods with no detectable side effects. In addition to islet survival, porcine insulin is being produced in the test animals, and the amount of insulin released increases when blood sugar levels are elevated by a fasting glucose challenge test. In the diabetic Lewis rats transplanted with Sertolin, the overall health of the animals was maintained compared to diabetic Lewis rats that did not receive Sertolin. The company said it is seeking guidance from health regulators in Canada and the US to determine what, if any, additional data are required prior to applying for approval to begin clinical trials.